What is the Australian Copyright Council?
The Australian Copyright Council (ACC) is an independent non-profit organisation that promotes the values of copyright laws in Australia. They receive funding primarily from seminars, publication sales and member fees. However, this is supplemented by substantial funding from the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
The ACC supports a creative Australia by promoting the benefits of creative expression, thriving, diverse, sustainable and creative Australian culture. It seeks to secure the creator’s rights to benefit from their creative work and to ensure that access to creative works is easy, legal and affordable. They wish to ensure that copyright upholds its purpose in balancing protection and access of creative works.
The ACC represents the peak bodies for professional artists and content creators working in Australia’s creative industries and Australia’s major copyright collecting societies.
If you are looking to protect your creative expression, Lawpath can connect you with an experienced copyright lawyer.
What is their Role?
The ACC represents the interests of many copyright owners including the peak bodies for professional artists and content creators working in Australia’s creative industries and major copyright collecting societies. ACC advances their mission of promoting the values of copyright laws by providing easily accessible and affordable practical, user-friendly information, legal advice, education and forums on Australian copyright law for content creators and consumers.
Online Legal Advice Services
The ACC provides free limited online legal advice for the various individuals. They do not advise people in commercial organisations outside the arts. However they provide online legal services to following categories of individuals and organisations:
- Creators – E.g. composers, writers, artists, filmmakers and photographers
- Arts & Cultural Organisations – E.g. staff involved with producing or assisting or supporting the creative arts
- Affiliated member organisations – E.g. Staff & members affiliated with the Copyright Council
- Educational Institutions – E.g. staff of educational institutions (with exception of state schools in QLD)
- Libraries & Archives
- Galleries & Museums
Need legal advice? Let LawPath find the right copyright lawyer for you. Submit a quote request and receive up to 3 fixed-priced quotes in 24 hours.
However, the ACC offers legal advice to individuals and organisations:
- That lack the financial means to obtain privately funded legal services; or
- To whom the statutory licence schemes in the Copyright Act are available; or
- Whose cases are expected to raise issues of public interest; or
- Whose cases are of general concern to disadvantaged groups in the community.
There are, however, limits to the legal advice they will provide. They do not:
- Represent you in court; or
- Draft letters on your behalf; or
- Negotiate for you; or
- Amend documents; or
- Advise on documents that you have drafted yourself.
Provision of Accessible, Affordable and User-friendly Information
The ACC provides concise, accessible and affordable information in the form of books and information sheets that encompass a wide range of issues and queries regarding copyright. The ACC offers subscriptions and special offers for access to books that address individual and organisational concerns related to copyright laws. For example, the ACC offers a bundle subscription combining ‘Architecture, Building Design & Copyright’ and ‘Writers & Copyright’.
Seminars
Finally, the ACC provides in-house training seminars that are designed to break down the complexities of copyright laws as it applies to an individual or organisation. These customised in-house training are tailored to suit your needs and environment.
For example, the ACC has training specifically tailored for Creators, Education, GLAM, Government Agencies, Large Organisations and for Community Groups. If those training seminars are not suited to your individual or collective concerns regarding copyright laws, the ACC accepts In-House Training Requests in a specific In-House Training Request Form so they can provide tailored information for individuals or organisations.
Unsure where to start? Contact a Lawpath consultant on 1800LAWPATH to learn more about customising legal documents, obtaining a fixed-price quote from one our network of 600+ expert lawyers or any other legal needs.
